Wine: California dreaming

In the 20-odd years I've been writing about wine, the wine world has changed hugely. But not, it seems, California, which is basically offering British consumers the same sort of wines as when I started out in the 90s – sweet and sickly at one end of the price spectrum, huge, oaky monsters in overweight bottles at the other. (Yes, I know lots of people like the sweet and sticky ones. Lots of people liked Turkey Twizzlers, too.)

The problem is, there's no real incentive to change. California has a huge home market, and a conservative one to boot – its main challenge is getting people into wine at all. There are some fabulous wines, but they don't by and large make it over here – or, if they do, only at eye-watering prices.

British importers are trying to bring over more in the £8-£15 price bracket, some rather more successfully than others. I don't really think the world needs another chardonnay, or even another porty, high-alcohol zinfandel, but there's always room for a well-priced pinot noir. It's hard to beat the silkily sweet the Crusher Wilson Vineyard Pinot Noir (£9.99 Talking Wines of Cirencester, £10.99 Hennings in Sussex; 14% abv), which is good value by any standard. Another is the rather sexy 2011 Hahn Estate Pinot Noir, from Monterey (£12.99 Waitrose, corksout.com; 14.5% abv). Hahn also makes a smooth, elegant cabernet, which is stocked by Wine Rack at £13.99, with 10% off if you buy six bottles.

I can't help feeling, though, that California's USP should be to offer the wine world a bit of fun rather than copycat bordeaux or burgundy. No one quite equals the great Randall Grahm in his heyday (Cardinal Zin being one of the all-time-great wine names), but let's have more wines such as the 2011 Smoking Loon Syrah (£9.95 Field & Fawcett, York; 14% abv), a good, gutsy, spicy red that would be great with the first of the season's barbecues (California goes in for the Rhône-ish syrah style rather than shiraz).

For sheer unabashed kitsch, however, you can't beat a zany series named after rock albums, including the Police Synchronicity Red and Rolling Stones 40 Licks Merlot. My own favourite is the 2010 Grateful Dead Steal Your Face (14.5% abv), a suitably exuberant blend of syrah, petite sirah, zinfandel and grenache, though maybe that reflects my taste in music as much as my taste in wine. Not cheap at £16.73 from Master of Malt, or £17.99 from greatwineonline.com, but for a wine-loving Deadhead, probably the dream gift.

matchingfoodandwine.com